What Skarbek Associates does

Skarbek Associates is a privately held boutique management consultancy founded in 2012 and headquartered in Weybridge, United Kingdom, with additional offices in London, Basel, and Singapore. The firm specialises in strategy execution, helping global enterprises bridge the gap between strategic ambition and operational delivery across five integrated service lines: Project & Portfolio Excellence, Operating Effectiveness, Innovation Fitness, Transformation & Change Management, and People & Capability Building. Its proprietary Innovation Fitness Index (IFI) is a diagnostic tool used to benchmark innovation capability. The consultancy operates with a senior-heavy bench of former FTSE 100 operators, top-tier consultancy alumni, and elite military figures who embed within client teams to deliver transformation programmes.

Skarbek serves exclusively enterprise clients across four vertical sectors: Pharma and Life Sciences, Consumer Health, Beauty and Luxury, and FMCG. Engagement is project-based with bespoke scoping tailored to client requirements, priced via quote-based professional services arrangements rather than published rate cards. Distribution is direct enterprise sales led by senior partners, supported by thought leadership content, PR coverage in Forbes, The Economist, FT and Management Today, and participation in sector events. The company is registered as Skarbek Associates Ltd (company number 07909421), is privately held with no external PE or VC backing disclosed, and transitioned from founder-led to partner-led ownership in July 2025 when Toni Marshall was appointed CEO and Tanguy Pellen as Managing Partner.

The business model is classic professional services: revenue derives from billable consulting days, with senior practitioner utilisation as the principal economic lever. Recent signals — including the 2025 leadership transition, senior hires in 2026, ongoing geographic presence across three continents, and a 2025 award as a Top Project Management Consulting Firm in the UK — point to controlled, mid-stage scaling rather than hypergrowth. No proprietary software platform or technology product exists; the offering is people-based consulting enriched by the IFI methodology and a published body of thought leadership.

Name

Skarbek Associates

Legal name

Skarbek Associates Ltd

Website

https://skarbek.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Skarbek Associates is a privately held UK-based boutique management consultancy, founded in 2012, that delivers strategy execution, transformation and innovation capability services to global enterprise clients in Pharma, Consumer Health, Beauty & Luxury, and FMCG.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Management Consulting

NAICS

Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (541611), Management Consulting Services (54161), Process, Physical Distribution, and Logistics Consulting Services (541614)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Strategy & Corporate Development Consulting (BPAHACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate Strategy Advisory (BPAHADAA), Organization Design & Operating Model Consulting (BPAHAGAB), Supply Chain & Procurement Consulting (BPAHACAC), Performance Management & Productivity Consulting (BPAHAGAL)

Keywords

• Strategy execution consulting
• Management consulting services
• Innovation consulting
• Transformation consulting
• Change management advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Weybridge

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Strategy Execution Consulting: Professional consulting services for strategy implementation, transformation, and operational excellence. Revenue generated through project-based engagements and retainer arrangements with enterprise clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Skarbek Associates is a boutique management consultancy that helps enterprises implement their strategic goals to drive sustainable growth and competitive positioning. The firm delivers five core consulting capabilities — Project & Portfolio Excellence, Operating Effectiveness, Innovation Fitness (including the proprietary Innovation Fitness Index diagnostic), Transformation & Change Management, and People & Capability Building — by embedding senior specialists inside client teams across pharma, consumer health, beauty & luxury, and FMCG sectors.

Product overview

Skarbek Associates is a strategy execution consultancy operating as a single integrated service offering rather than a software product platform. The company provides five core consulting services: Project & Portfolio Excellence, Operating Effectiveness, Innovation Fitness (including the Innovation Fitness Index assessment tool), Transformation & Change Management, and People & Capability Building. These services work together as a unified consultancy approach to help clients implement strategic objectives and drive sustainable growth. The company also publishes 'Making It Happen,' a collection of strategic insights. Skarbek serves clients across four primary sectors: Pharma, Consumer Health, Beauty and Luxury, and FMCG.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Project & Portfolio Excellence

Quantifiable outcome

• Client value continues to grow quarter on quarter following capability building engagement
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• C5 CapitalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLieutenant General Sir Graeme Lamb serves as Strategic Partner of C5 Capital, a cyber investment firm. This represents a personal advisory relationship of a team member rather than a company-level partnership.
• Palantir TechnologiesminorOthersLieutenant General Sir Graeme Lamb serves as an adviser to Palantir Technologies. This represents a personal advisory relationship of a team member.
• ITC Advisory BoardminorOthersLieutenant General Sir Graeme Lamb serves as Chairman of ITC Advisory Board. This is a personal board chair position of a team member.
• Yale Jackson Institute for Global AffairsminorOthersLieutenant General Sir Graeme Lamb serves as guest lecturer at Yale's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs. This represents a personal academic engagement of a team member.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Eden McCallum: London-headquartered boutique consulting firm using a senior-freelance network model to deliver strategy and transformation projects for European and global clients. Comparable boutique positioning and senior-led delivery approach.
• Results International Group: UK-based boutique advisory firm supporting technology, media and consumer companies on strategy, M&A and transformation. Comparable boutique scale and senior-led enterprise engagement style.
• OC&C Strategy Consultants: Global strategy boutique with strong consumer goods and retail practice, advising multinational corporates on growth strategy and operations. Closely comparable in vertical mix (FMCG, beauty, consumer health) and senior-led engagement model.
• Newton (formerly Newton Europe): UK-based boutique consultancy focused on operational improvement and results delivery for global enterprises, including significant FMCG and consumer work. Most direct peer to Skarbek's strategy execution, transformation and capability building proposition.
• Elixirr International: AIM-listed international boutique consultancy offering strategy, digital transformation and innovation services to enterprise clients across multiple sectors. Comparable in size, boutique positioning and senior-led delivery model.
• CIL Management Consultants: UK boutique consultancy delivering strategy, operations and transformation engagements to global corporates with senior practitioner teams. Direct peer on boutique strategy execution model and enterprise client base.

Broad incumbents

• Baringa Partners: Larger UK-headquartered independent consultancy with energy, financial services and consumer practices advising global enterprises on strategy, operations and transformation. Broader and more scaled incumbent offering overlapping with Skarbek's enterprise transformation work.
• PA Consulting: Global innovation and transformation consultancy with deep consumer, life sciences and industrial sector expertise. Much larger incumbent with overlapping capabilities in innovation strategy, operating model design and capability building.
• EY-Parthenon: Strategy arm of a Big 4 firm with significant consumer products and life sciences practices advising multinationals on corporate strategy, transactions and transformation. Represents the broader incumbent competitive set Skarbek competes against on larger mandates.

Regional players

• gpStrategy: UK-based consultancy specialising in people, change and transformation services for global enterprises. Regional peer with closely overlapping capabilities in change management, capability building and programme delivery for large corporates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/skarbekassoc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Skarbek Associates